Red Sox Craig Kimbrel Is Red Hot
Boston Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel is justifying the team’s faith in him with every pitch. He has been scorching the competition so far this spring.
Ian Browne of MLB.com reported Kimbrel’s thoughts on his recent success: “Obviously, yeah, I am ready to go […] But you can’t always base results off of how good you feel. There are days you can go out there and be all over the place and still be effective. There’s days when you feel great and still get hit around.” Kimbrel went on to say, “I wouldn’t say as a whole you don’t want to look into results too much, good or bad […] You’ve still got to make sure you make your pitches and make sure everything’s kind of dialed in and everything’s on time.”
With those words, the 27-year-old Alabama native sounds a bit like another famous name discussing how the process is very important. A football coach by the name of Nick Saban. You may have heard of him. Four national championships since 2009? Five of those championships in total? It’s safe to say that focussing on the process is a good strategy.
In Kimbrel’s case, making sure that every pitch as best as it can be seems to be working very well for him.
Kimbrel has made the All-Star game four times since 2011, leading the National League in saves four years in a row for the Atlanta Braves. That streak was broken in 2015, while Kimbrel played for the lowly San Diego Padres, but he still earned 39 saves in 43 opportunities.
The former Rookie of the Year award winner was traded to the Red Sox last November for four minor league players, including prospect Manuel Margot. Between the trade and the $24.5 million that they still need to pay him, the Red Sox spent a great deal in order to obtain Kimbrel’s services.
The process, from Kimbrel and the Red Sox, seems to be progressing very well. He has only given up one hit and one run in his five innings of work so far this spring. That hit came in his first inning. Kimbrel has struck out six batters and has not given up a walk. FanGraphs.com has him ranked as having complete control of his fastball, which reached speeds up to 97 mph, and also complete control over his knuckle curveball, which also can reach up to 87 mph. For the most part, these two pitches are all that Kimbrel needs to make quick work of his opponents.
If Kimbrel continues to keep his mindset that every pitch needs his maximum focus, the Red Sox should get exactly what they wanted out of him. His success should make him the undisputed closer and leader of Boston’s bullpen for the foreseeable future, possibly even through 2018 with a $13 million team option. Now, if the starters and the bats can do their jobs just as well as Kimbrel, the closer should get a chance at a postseason appearance for the first time since 2013.
But remember: it’s called a process for a reason.